What is a drug-induced homicide charge?

A drug-induced homicide charge holds a person criminally responsible for someone else’s overdose death because they supplied the drugs. The prosecution does not have to show that the person meant to harm anyone.

Where these charges come from

There are two main routes.

In federal court. Federal drug law adds a far heavier penalty when “death or serious bodily injury results from the use of” the drugs. If that is proven, the sentence must be at least 20 years, and can be life in prison (21 U.S.C. § 841).

In state court. Many states have laws written for exactly this situation, under names such as “drug-induced homicide”, “drug delivery resulting in death” or “death by distribution”. Other states charge it as manslaughter or murder. The name of the charge, the penalty and what has to be proven all differ from state to state. The Prescription Drug Abuse Policy System tracks these state laws.

What the prosecution has to prove

In a federal case, the government has to prove that the person distributed the drug, and that the drug caused the death.

In 2014 the Supreme Court decided what “caused” means. Unless the drug was enough to kill the person on its own, the government must show that the person would not have died without it. It is not enough that the drug contributed to the death (Burrage v. United States). Questions of cause — what the autopsy found, what other drugs were involved — can matter a great deal, and are worth raising with a lawyer.

State courts apply their own state’s rules.

Who is charged

These laws are often described as a way to reach drug dealers. In practice, the people charged also include friends, partners, relatives and people who were using drugs together. The case database on this site includes, for example, a man charged after his girlfriend died, a man charged after the mother of one of his children died, and a man charged after a friend he was staying with died.

What a conviction can mean

In federal court, a conviction for distribution resulting in death carries the 20-year minimum. Not every case ends with it: some people plead guilty to a different charge that does not carry the minimum. Sentences in the case database run from under two years to life in prison.

What will happen in any one case depends on its facts, the charge and the court. A defense lawyer is the only person who can tell you how this applies to your family.